I'm in Zone 7, Tenn and new to gardening any pointers?

Moderator note.....
This question was posted by DirtyDigits in another forum and has been moved here to be continued.....

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I'm in zone 7 and have plenty of the red clay here to deal with. I can try to answer some questions you may have.

 

FlowerFreak,

You are my current hero! We moved from Houston Tx to middle TN. I have no problem planting in pots and raised beds since I use bagged garden or potting soil. What I don't know is what will grown well in the red clay, almost all my neighbors have non flowering bushes. One down the street has a rather spindly crepe myrtle and a couple have dandelion patches, but I'm pretty sure those aren't intentional!
Suggestions?

 

I have some Hydrangeas, Prickly Pear Cactus, Cosmos, and Purple Passion Flower that are growing fine in the soil. Purple Cone Flower and Forsythia should also be ok. For my other plants I usually dig a hole (size depending on how big the plant is going to be eg. a six foot tall plant would get a hole about 2ft deep and 2ft wide, a 3ft tall one would 1'x1' and anything under would get 6"x6") and fill it with whatever soil the plant would need either regular garden soil or cactus soil. This helps them get a good strong set of roots so when they go into the clay they already have strong roots to help them penetrate it. Trees are a bit different as in if it's native I just stick it in the ground ( same with other plants and bushes), but if its not, I put it in a pot with garden soil and let it grow a bit then stick it in the ground without addition of anymore soil although more wouldn't hurt. Hope this helps a little.

 

Eileen Thank you for the site! I've bookmarked it for future use.

FlowerFreak Thank you for the list!! That's exactly what I was needing... a starting place for some color! I'll check into the ones you listed see what I can get planted this spring.